7i1E/itTROTIIEW1511060NICLE
EVEFROITIEWISfi et RON ICIL
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Sabbath Re•dinn of the Law.
Pentateuchal portion--Gen. 47:28-50:26.
Prophetical portion—I Kings 2:1.12.
January 2, 1931
Tebeth 13, 5691
EZRZIVIVIZ
MTAMIVERAMIMMIRS5t310
.
A Prince Is Lost to Israel.
An irreparable loss for the Jewish peo-
ple is the death of Lord Melchett, the form-
er Sir Alfred Mond.
An industrial monarch and a noted dip-
lomat, Lord Melchett's name will be espec-
ially connected with the story of Jewish ef-
fort for the reconstruction of Palestine. His
name will be linked with those of two other
great giants in finance, Baron Edmond de
Rothschild of Paris, whom Jews through-
out the world affectionately call "der Bar-
on," and Felix M. Warburg of New York.
Baron Rothschild wa3 the man who laid the
foundation for the old Yishub, the first set-
tlement, in Zion, Mr. Warburg practically
financed Jewish effort in Palestine this year.
Because of the countrywide failure of the
Allied Jewish Campaign, with some excep-
tions in which Detroit is included, Mr. War-
burg alone this year spent $1,000,000 for
Palestine. But Lord Melchett's work is di-
rectly comparable with that of Baron Roths-
child because he has, in the past five years,
spent millions in developing orange groves
in Palestine, placing them for sale among
Palestine Jews on long term payments in
parcels of 10 dunams. Tel Mond, the set-
tlement bearing his name, stands as a mon-
ument to his efforts.
Lord Melchett's reply to the recent Brit-
ish White Paper, on account of which he re-
signed as chairman of the Council of the
Jewish Agency and as president of the Eng-
lish Zionist Federation, was one of the most
excoriating of all Jewish criticisms of his
own government, and was remarkable evi-
dence of his devotion to the cause of the
Jewish National Home in Palestine.
Jews everywhere will mourn the death
of this great leader with the traditional dec-
laration that "sar v'godol nofal b'Israel,"—
"a prince and a great man has fallen in
Israel."
A Catholic Replies to Dr. Pool.
We are very grateful to Rev. George W.
Pare of the Sacred Heart Seminary of this
city for his statement replying to Dr. David
deSola Pool's attack on William Thomas
Walsh's "Isabella of Spain, the Last Cru-
sader." Even if it is not to be considered
an official reply, as it can not possibly be,
it is a fair indication of what a Catholic
scholar thinks about the matters involved—
the Inquisition, the ritual murder lie, etc.
It is clear that Reverend Pare has tried
to be fair in his reply, even if he did call
Dr. Pool's review of the Isabella biography
"too violent." Nevertheless we are disap-
pointed in some of his statements. He states,
for instance, that "today, both ritual mur-
der and the Inquisition are unthinkable.
Five hundred years ago they were not. In
such matters perspective is everything." If
our learned correspondent refers to the sen-
timents of unthinking masses, then we do
not have to go back four centuries to prove
when both the Inquisition and ritual mur-
der were "unthinkable." Even the enlight-
ened twentieth century Jews are suffering
such bigoted "thinking." But we are dealing
with the high councils of the church, and
we are surprised to hear that at any time,
even in the most bigoted periods in the story
of mankind. teachers of religion and ethics
should condone the existence of such a "re-
volting accusation," to use Reverend Pare's
own words, as the ritual murder lie, and
such horrible instrument as the Inquisition.
In Jewish life such an instrument could
never be excused. And official Catholicisni
never did either, as was emphasized by Dr.
Pool when he made reference to the disap-
proval of the zeal of the Spanish Inquisi-
tion by Popes Sixtus IV, Innocent VIII and
the Borgia Pope Alexander VI, who plead-
ed with Isabella to be more merciful.
Reverend Pare writes us that "if Mr.
Walsh's book can be discredited by an im-
partial and painstaking refutation, it will be
disavowed by every lover of justice and
truth." But every lover of justice and
truth has already disavowed the sentiments
of the book. History has condemned the
Inquisition and the efforts to pin the ritual
murder lie on the Jews. And joining in
the condemnations were Catholics as well
as Protestants and Jews.
We continue to hope that the official
Catholic Church will disavow this biog-
raphy of Isabella. Dr. Pool's attack on
Walsh's book was tempered with a feeling
of friendship for the present Catholic
beb
' '
Church, and his attack was limited to the
cruel institutions which were created by fa-
natics and which were as abhorrent to truly
religious Catholic souls in the fifteenth cen-
tury as they are in the twentieth.
In all fairness to our Catholic friends, we
quote the Catholic explanation of the Span-
ish Inquisition. A devout Catholic friend
has supplied us with a copy of "Catholic
Answers to Protestant Charges" by G. El-
liot Anstruther, organizing secretary of the
International Catholic Truth Society. The
answer to the charge on the Spanish Inqui-
sition reads:
The Inquisition is an institution, still in
existence, for the purpose of investigating and
dealing with heretical teaching. It is needless
to say that it never inflicts capital punishment
nowadays, or imprisonment, or any of the
other penalties which followed from its action
in bygone centuries. The Inquisition, as acuh,
should not be confused with the Spanish In-
quisition, with which this note has to deal.
The Spanish Inquisition was founded in 1481
by Ferdinand and Isabella, and its severities
were condemned by some of the Popes them-
selves. No Catholic would desire for one mo-
ment to condone its excesses; no Catholic na-
tion would nowadays permit them. But we
must remember in order to judge even the
Spanish Inquisition fairly, that in the days
when it was in operation torture and death
were inflicted all over Europe, including Eng-
land, for an enormous number of offenses, and
heresy was then adjudged, especially in Spain,
to be a serious crime against the state. As a
matter of fact, while the Inquisitors decided
as to the heresy of the accused, the state exe-
cuted the sentence, the Inquisition being a
joint tribunal of church and state.
"The History of the Spanish Inquisition,"
written by Llorente, on which most Protestant
writers rely, is full of statements and statistics
which cannot be reconciled with those from
other sources, and it is significant that he
burnt the official records which would have
enabled his figures to be checked. The Spanish
Inquisition was not more cruel in its procedure
—it was indeed more just—than were the civil
courts of that time. Llorente gives the almost
certainly false total of 6,024 victims of the
Inquisition under Torquemada during 14
years; according to a yearly average computed
by Sir James Stephens, there were in a similar
period 11,200 executions in England under
Queen Elizabeth.
We believe that the above speaks for it
self. Only the uninformed and the very
naive will justify the Inquisition on the
ground that it "was not more cruel in its
procedure—it was indeed more just—than
were the civil courts of that time." Our
argument at this time, however, is that the
Catholic Church ought not to be a party
to such aspersions on the Jewish people as
are contained in Walsh's "Isabella," and
we again join Dr. Pool in urging the Cath-
olics of this country to disavow the volume.
Bigotry in a Season of Good Will.
Under date of December 22, on the eve
of the great Christian holiday which is
hailed as ushering in the season of good
will and peace among men, the Jewish Tel-
egraphic Agency received the following
cable from Prague, in Czechoslovakia:
The publication of an article in the Christ-
mas issue of the Czechoslovakian Y. M. C. A.'s
organ of an article repeating the legend that
the Jews are responsible for the crucifixion
of Christ has aroused great indignation among
the Jews of this city, and particularly among
those who have actively supported the work of
the Y. M. C. A. The article in question also
points out that a number of reference books
on the subject are axailable in the Y. M. C. A.
library.
This serves to remind Jews of the story
of Pat, the Irish friend of a Jew whom he
suddenly attacked as a Christ-killer. His
Jewish friend, amazed at the sudden ha-
tred, asked for a reason for Pat's action
over something that happened nineteen
centuries ago, and Pat's reply was: "I only
heard it yesterday."
How else are we to describe such inbecil-
ity and such stupid way of fostering ha-
tred? Because such things recur every
year at Christmas-time, Jews are not sur-
prised by them, but they nevertheless re-
gret that bigotry should continue to rule
the earth.
Better Not Vow, Than Not Pay.
To those who made pledges to the Al-
lied Jewish Campaign fund during the
Spring drive, there is a warning in Eccles-
iastes:
"Better is it that thou shouldest not Vow,
than that thou shouldest not pay."
The appeals to contributors to make im-
mediate payments, published in the last
three issues of The Chronicle, reveal anxi-
ety on the part of Detroit leaders for the
causes involved. Anti they are justified be-
cause Jewry everywhere is experiencing
one of the most serious crises in our history,
and more fortunate American Israel must
honor its obligations if the structures of re-
construction overseas, and the communal
agencies in this country, are not to crumble.
Samuel Johnson, in "The Patriot," is-
sued this interesting warning against the
making of false promises: "He that raises
false hopes to serve a present purpose, only
makes a way for disappointment and dis-
content." Certainly pledges to the Allied
Jewish Campaign were made in good faith,
but even the slightest delay in their pay-
ments may serve to make "a way for disap-
pointment."
It is better not to make any vows at all
than that the pledges should not be hon-
ored, and the contributions made to the Al-
lied Campaign should be paid at once.
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'1
Charles H. Joseph
Tidbits and News of Jew-
ish Personalities.
By DAVID SCHWARTZ
DIARY OF A DAY
Up, breakfast and board the sub-
way, reading more on Einstein and
marveling that people make so
great ado about something they
do not understand. But perhaps,
that's just it. People are always
moot enthusiastic about the incom-
prehensible. Consider religion.
It's the inscrutable that explains
its lasting grip.
At the office meet X, who asks
if I have heard Einstein's latest
definition of relativity.
"I devoutly pray you are not
going to spring the one about
when you sit on a red hot stove,
a minute seems like an eternity
and when you sit on a pretty girl's
lap, an eternity seems like a min-
ute.'"
"No," retorts X.
This one is
bona fide from Einstein himself.
Asked what his theory was, Pro.
fessor Einstein told a friend. If
my theory proves true, the Ger-
mans in future years will say Ein-
stein was a German, and the
French will say no--a mind like
his was international. Whereas, if
the theory proves unsound, the
French will say Einstein was a
German and the Germans will say
he was a Jew. That's relativ i ty."'
That, too, X, I have heard be-
fore, but I can use it in my busi-
ness—what, with the depression,
what it is—
"HEAD CHECK" GINSBURG
Promenading with Jewish Tri-
bune Wallach, came upon Louis
Popkin, who now and then is heard
of in a publicity way. Popkin told
the one about "Head Check Gins-
burg." For those who may not be
in the know, so-called "head-
checks" are merely checks dated
ahead. When Ginsburg was con-
fronted with a bill say on Dec. 23,
he would sign a check as of, say,
Jan. 5.
Well, it appears that Ginsburg.
who was eternally writing "head
checks" died and his friends placed
on the tombstone:
Here lies Jacob Ginsburg,
Ile died June 6 as of July 2.
—)—
THE DIXIE JEWISH POET
And so, an anthology of South-
ern verse is planning to devote
some 16 pages to the works of
Robert Loveman of Dalton,
Ga.,
who authored, among other things,
the "It Isn't Raining to Me" bal-
lad. I have been told that some
cousin of the late Dixie poet, a
lawyer, is president of a Brooklyn
synagogue. Let those who think
of Jews so frequently in terms of
the revolutionists consider the
case of Loveman. Here was a poet
of "sweetness and light" in all its
glory, particularly of sweetness. A
cousin of this Robert Loveman, by
the way, Sam Loveman, if I recall
correctly, wrote things of a more
acid constitution. He Was a
friend of Ambrose Bierce.
MENCKEN AND LOVEMAN
But going back to Robert Love-
man, my private detectives inform
me that Robert Loveman was the
idol of H. L. Mencken in his youth,
and that the l.oveman family still
possesses a number of letters
which the youthful Ilenry wrote to
Loveman, telling him how much
his poems meant to him. Prob-
ably, today, Mencken would give
a small fortune to burn up these
letters. In his youth, youthful
Harry was quite as sentimental as
the rest of them. There used to
be a little book in the New York
library, containing some of these
adolescent and sentimental effu-
sions of Mencken himself, but the
book is no more to be found there,
and gossip has it that II. L.
Mencken may have been respon-
sible for its disappearance. It
would not do for the votary of the
Dionysian outlook on life to ever
have been known to applaud
ecstatically such a serse as this
of Loveman:
"It isn't raining to me,
It's raining violets.
On every dimpled drop I see
New flowers on the hills.
It isn't raining rain to me,
It's raining daffodils.
BUT WHO CAN WRITE A
TREE?
To the Civic Repertory, where
slaves Miss Steinberg for Eva Le-
Gallienne. To our query for news
came the response: "Nothing—
no runs, no hits, no errors."
But nevertheless our suspicions
came true. She is writing a book,
as who is not; for, as the poet ob-
served, anyone may write a book,
but who can write a tree—or
something to the same purpose.
Anyway. Miss Steinberg's opus is
to be a history of the Fourteenth
Street Theater, and being an insti-
tution where such actors as Booth,
Laura Keane and other celebrities
of the years that are no more
played, it should have plenty of
throbs.
AFTER THE BALL IS OVER
Newspapers report the passing
of Charles K. Harris, author of
"After the Ball" and "Break the
News to Mother." Saw him only
recently and he looked good for at
least another 20 years. If all the
couples who have waltzed to his
melodies since Harris wrote them
were placed side by able, they
would reach almost from here to
the heaven, to which I hope Har-
ris has gone. Harris, by the way.
began his musical compositions as
the result of some unhappy boys
episode. Song writers should
always be unhappy. Consider Irv-
ing Berlin. As long as he wan un-
satisfied he wrote songs, "What'll
I Do," "Remember," etc., etc.. but
now that everything is hunkydory,
his muse has been silent.
FIGURES AND NOTES
Music and mathematics — the
Jew appears to have a strong ore-
dilection for both of these. Ein-
stein is not the only great Jewi+h
mathematician. He is the great-
rot, perhaps, but the Wolof, are
full of prominent Jewish mathe-
(Turn to Next Page)
..ves4-4-Qs4W-4—
s.v•Attt•t•
Wanted: Jews In Politics
1101 1 (1
ta$
IT IS interesting to see just how close a person
may get to being generous without quite reaching
the line. The late Harvey G. Woodward, the Birm-
ingham, Ala., capitalist, is one I have in mind. Ile
left a trust endowment of $7,500,000 to establish a
chain of boys' schools to be operated on radically
new lines, in the state of Alabama. An unusual
provision which shows that he had sonic imagination
is that for the first 25 years every teacher must be
drawn from the United Statt., north of an east-west
line through Cincinnati. This was done to show the
boys of Alabama that the people of the North are
not unlike the people of the South. Thus far Mr.
Woodward showed himself to be unhampered by
prejudices. Ile adventured into new fields and ap-
parently determined through an unique method to
prove once and for all that the time had come to
do away with childhood hates between the North
and the South.
BUT
only Caucasians will be admitted to the
ward schools. And even they must have been
born in the United States of parents who are either
natural born citizens of the United States or are of
British or English descent. The will specifically
excludes Jews by a clause that "no member of the
Ilebrew race will be admitted," which, it is naively
explained, "was not meant as a slight," but "simply
reflects the necessity of limiting the membership."
So you see what I had in mind when I said that
some folk never quite reach the line of generosity.
If Mr. Woodward had sought to establish a religious
school confined to Protestants there might have been
some excuse for excluding Jewish boys. But to
single out what he calls the "Hebrew race" and
closes the doors shows that in some respects he
must have been touched by Klan influence. You
will notice that he stresses the children must he of
British or English descent. Now I am not quarrel-
ing with the donor of the Woodward Schools, but
merely pointing out that he was not quite liberal
enough to be a liberal; that he was influenced by
those prejudices that show him in the final analysis
to have been narrow in his social outlook. Those
Jews who continue to insist on identifying them-
selves as Jews by a religious tag will be surprised to
learn that tSeir neighbors, including the late Mr.
Woodward, insist on separating them into a "He-
brew race."
I
HAVE before me a copy of the "Tribute of the
Seven," written and read by Rabbi Edward N.
Calisch, of Richmond, Va., representative of the
Jewish Welfare Board Army and Navy Committee,
at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Armistice
Day. The "Seven" are the seven welfare organiza-
tions of the World War. Dr. Calisch has struck
such a high note of Americanism in this brief ora-
tion, and has done it with such beautiful expression
that I must bring it to the attention of the readers
of this column.
Beneath this marble there rests the body of
the Unknown Soldier. Though called unknown
he is better known than if his name were bla-
zoned on a memorial tablet in every city of our
land. It is only the accident of his physical
being that is unknown. The thing that he was
himself, and the thing that he symbolizes is the
common possession of us all. We know not
what was his color, or his creed, or his condi-
tion of life. We know not whether there wept
for him a solitary widow in an humble cabin,
or a proud family in a palatial mansion. We
know not whether he prayed to Jehovah or
Christ. We know not whether he came from
Cavalier or Puritan stock, or was an humble
stranger who had been received within these
gates of Opportunity. But we do know that
he is the token of that union of racial and na-
tional cultures, in whose fusion is the making
of the future of America. It is necessary that
a people, who compose a nation, who partici-
pate in a common government and a common
enterprise, shall have a fund of common mem-
ories, common traditions and ideals and a com-
mon vehicle of expression. These common
ideals and memories were consummated in the
war. The common vehicle of their expression
is here in this grave. Speechless and unknown
though he is, his very silence and annonymity
are eloquent of our common country, our com-
mon love and our common loyalty."
After reading this one can easily discover
whether Dr. Edward Calisch or the late Harvey G.
Woodward (to whom we have referred in the first
paragraph) interpreted more truly the spirit of
America,
•
-
SO WE are going to have two drives in 1531.
Well, that's a good New Year greeting. The
Joint Distribution Committee will start a cam-
paign to raise funds to continue its program of re-
construction, cultural, health and sanitation, child
care, credit and industrial aid in Eastern Europe.
Then funds for the work of the Jewish Agency for
Palestine will be raised through a drive to be
known as the American Palestine campaign. Until
the close of the year there had been held in many
communities an Allied drive to which two and a half
millions were pledged. But it was decided that:
The increasingly pressing need for immedi-
ate funds for the activities of both organiza-
tions, the differing budgetary requirements,
and the advisability of permitting as much
freedom of choice and support as possible dur-
ing the present trying economic period have
made it desirable to separate their fund-raising
activities. It is hoped thereby to enable each
organization to emphasize its own requirements
in those quarters where it may meet the most
sympathetic response.
statement translated into plain English
T HAT
means that by having two campaigns you may
choose the cause nearest your heart. That is if you
have a hu, art-interest in either. If you don't want
to help Palestine help Eastern Europe; if you are
less interested in the troubles of the Jews of East-
ern Europe than you are in the welfare of the Pal-
estine movement give your money to Palestine. Of
course you may give to both!
THE book, "The Great Betrayal." written by Rabbi
Stephen Wise and Jacob dellaas, tells the story
of the rise and development of the Zionist move-
ment in its relation to Great Britain. It is splen-
didly written and every Jew, whether he is a Zion-
ist or a non-Zionist or an anti-Zionist, should read
this well-documented history. At least, when one
has finished reading the book he will have an intel-
ligent understanding of the Zionist movement and
the part that Great Britain has played in its real-
ization. Of course the title itself, "The Great
Betrayal," indicates the purpose of its publication;
and the authors have made out such a strong case
against the Passfield White Paper and
the Labor
government generally that one is inclined to be-
lieve that the Zionists have been "let down." I
commend this volume most strongly to every Jew
who wants to be well informed on the progress of
events in Palestine.
are exactly 11 Jews in the freshman
T HERE
class
of 630 at Princeton university.—Benja.
min Cohn, head of the Independent Oil Company in
Altoona, Pa., gave a hundred thousand dollars to a
foundation, the income of which shall be used for
the relief of the needy of that community.—A
number of Gentile employes inherited the business
of a Jewish employer in Pittsburgh, Pa., and every
Yam Kippur the store is kept closed out of respect
to his memory. Jewish stores all around them are
kept open.—So for as Eddie Cantor is concerned,
talk isn't cheap; he is credited with an income of
over $300,000 a year.—Rabbi Stephen Wise and
Jacob dellaas must have worked overtime on that
book yr theirs, "The Great Betrayal," because it
takes the reader right un to the Passfield White
Paper.-1 understand that Dr. wise is back in
his pulpit after his severe illness, and thousand.;
will rejoice in the news.—Mrs. Rebecca Kohut is
still the "grand old woman" in American Israel.
By CHARLES EDWARD RUSSELL
(Editorle Notei—Charles
sell.
noted
historian and
econonitat,
whose most recent work is • biography
of Ilayin Salomon. the Jewish financier
who made possible the American victory
in the war of independence. believes tha t
rhoen,J
still joerilottr,i
uif
in .
i, erg of pullout
to their longsuppression in Medieval
times.
Ile declarey that the Jew+ are
h in the political life of the United
Statee, in an article written for the
Jewis
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, omen then,
t i , i ,,,,
c,:m
oe,e,vilon rottisly forward
.
r enir d uf
101, r ei r r t
conimunitY.)
What I am going to write here
is attended with a certain grave
risk. As soon as I say that Jews
ought to go into politics, 99 in ev-
ery 100 persons will leap to the
conclusion that I am press agenting
for some party, some candidate,
movement, organization, clique,
boss or job.
I mean nothing of the kind. I
am not a member of any political
party, I am not in touch with any
candidate, I have not seen a po-
litical boss since I quit reporting,
I am too old to be myself a candi-
date for any office.
I think the Jews ought to vote,
but I haven't the slightest inten-
tion of suggesting whom they
should vote for.
They do not now, as a class,
take much interest in politics, be-
cause, as nearly as I can find out,
they do not feel perfectly at home
in this country.
You will understand that I am
speaking in general terms—most
general. Many Jews perform to
the full their civic duties. Many
Jews have taken a vivid interest in
politics, some have achieved promi-
nence therein. The late !odor
Raynor of Maryland, long a sena-
tor from that state, was a notable
example of a Jew that achieved
success in a political career that
lasted many years and was full of
honor. I have known other in-
stances equally pertinent.
Negligible in Politic..
But the fact remains that in pro-
portion to their numbers, intelli-
gence, business importance and
demonstrated capacity in other di-
rections, the Jews in politics are
negligible. They are just noth-
ings. Nobody regards them, in the
mass; nobody counts on them.
Great numbers of them have not
been naturalized; other great num-
bers do not take the trouble to go
to the polls.
This is an error for them, and a
defeat for the public interests as
I can easily show.
I think they abstain from an ac-
tive participation in politics partly
because they take too seriously
the medieval prejudices that still
strangely survive in a part of the
population. There are still cave
dwellers and troglodytes that go
Jew-baiting as in the jungle their
ancestors went bear-baiting. True,
they do not now burn a Jew at the
stake or tear him apart with wild
horses or break his bones in that
highly civilized and gracious in-
vention known as the boots. But
they black-ball him at clubs and
they try to keep him out of hotels
and they spare no good chance to
torture him with sneers and covert
insults.
In this way he gets an impres-
sion that in free America there is
still the spirit of intolerance and
bigotry that darkened Europe so
many centuries. These forms
have changed, the spirit remains
the same, essentially it is the same
cruelty. You can cause a sensitive
man to suffer more through his
mind than through his body.
S•ys Jews Useful Official.,
Yes, but don't you see that by
isolating themselves from public
affairs the Jews are playing direct-
ly into the hands of their enemies?
The customary argument against
the Jew is that he is not an Ameri-
can. Students of history know
how preposterous this assertion is,
but it goes unchecked, neverthe-
less. Historically, Jews have
always been closely interwoven
with America, from the first move-
ment to finance Columbus down to
the present moment. But the cave-
dwelling spirit says the Jew is un-
American and for proof points to
the fact that he refuses to take
part in public affairs, "Jews
haven't any interest in this coun-
try except to gouge all the money
they can out of it," gays Neander-
thal. I know better and so knows
every other man that has imparti-
ally surveyed this matter, but so
long as you people stand aloof you
will be putting this club into the
hands of the elements hostile to
you.
The intelligent and reasoning
part of the community has no such
prejudice as you think is common
here. No considerable number of
voters will reject a good candidate
because he is a Jew. As a rule,
Jews in Ake have been, in my ob-
servation, exceedingly capable,
diligent and useful public servants.
What 1 am plugging for is to have
more of them there. No sane per-
son, however prejudiced, would
doubt, for example, that every
Louis Marshall we could get into
the public service would be a dis-
tinct public gain.
Or suppose a ;rajority of the
New York Board of Estimates was
composed of men like the late
Simon Sterne. There would be
something doing for houseeclean-
ing about this time, would there
not?
Jewish Code of Morals.
The Jews are just as much in-
terested as anybody else that the
government shall run cleanly and
well. They are not aliens sojourn-
ing for a time in a strange land.
This is their home and their chil-
dren's home, and will be. They
suffer as much as the rest of us
from slipshod government, corrup-
tion, incompetence, graft and
waste. But I cannot recall that in
the three great uprisings I have
seen in New York against these
evils the Jews have taken any part
commensurate with their propor-
tion of the population's total and
their share has been still less in
proportion to the influence they
might have exerted.
It is so in all parts of the coun-
try; but not because the Jews have
a slacker code of morals or less in-
spiration toward righteousness; on
the contrary, taking them by and
large, I think they have rather a
better standard about these things.
Certainly, there is no higher code
of public affairs than the deco-
logue of Moses and the methods of
governmental uprightness revealed
in the Book of Judges.
At a time like this, when we face
the worst conditions in municipal
management that we have had
since Tweed's days, there is no
better recourse than to the plain
principles of honesty and ethics
laid down by Moses and cherished
by all the generations of Jews ever
since. A man that has been thor-
oughly grounded from his youth up
in the stern notions of personal
honesty and public responsibility
taught in these precepts would
hardly be likely to betray a public
trust.
'
" "o'etb'elf
Need Strong Jewish Asset.
I don't mean that the Jews
should come forth of a sudden,
trumpet a grand righteousness
and announce that they know how
to run the machine better than
anybody. That might be in ac-
cordance with the fictitious Jew
that prejudice and malice have
imagined but not in accordance
with the real Jew as I have known
him. I mean no theatrics on the
civic stage but only that in every
movement everywhere for better
conditions, a purer government
and a truer democracy the Jews
should take the full part to which
they are entitled as citizens and
Americans.
They need never fear that to
do so can be in any way deroga-
tory to their religion or inconsist-
ent with its exercises. The story
of Haym Salomon shows that a
man can be an ardent patriot and
a devout Jew, careful to perform
every religious duty. In truth it
seems to me, reading the Scrip-
tures, that to be a good citizen
is clearly taught there and no man
slothful or negligent about his
public duties can truly be called a
good Jew.
We need in public affairs in this
country the strong asset of the
Jewish ethics and we need at all
times the spirit of democracy that
breathes through the Jewish sa-
cred writings and is apparent in
the Jewish history and traditions.
I recall that the ancient Jewish es-
tablishment was always free from
the deadly corruption of caste.
Against this insidious foe democ-
racy must be incessantly on guard
and never more than now. The
absolute rejection of case is de-
mocracy's keystone. Under the
influence of that faith, wherever
there has been a struggle against
oppression, Jews have been on the
side of liberty. They were so con-
spicuously in the immortal con-
flict that founded this nation.
They have been so elsewhere.
Therefore I say that the addition
to American politics of great num.
hers of people that have this back-
ground and this tradition would be
an asset of inestimable value. I
hope to see it realized.
(Copyright. 1931, J. T. A.)
[VIEWS OF LEADING JEWS
DR. NATHAN KRASS, Rabbi, Temple Beth El, New York: "The
supplementary definition of fear is shame, which means the dread of
doing something for which you will later have to suffer remorse. Fear
of God is still valid in this century. It does not mean an emotional
state which is iodated, but it leads to wisdom and to an ultimate state
of civilization where poverty will be abolished. Judaism is pre-emi-
nently a human religion, and not merely a collection of dry formulae
and documents."
•
•
•
EMANUEL NEUMANN: "The Arabs were promised Syria, Iraq,
Transjordania, the Hejaz, a whole group of states of which Palestine
forms a very minute part. The Arabs received almost all of the terri-
tory promised to them. We rejoiced then, and do so now, at this tre-
mendous recognition of Arab aspirations. We ask only that they look
upon us in the same spirit. In Palestine it is we who are destined to
build. Co-operation between these two great branches of the Semitic
race is impossible if one of them insists upon imperialistic expansion
with a total disregard of the minimum rights of the other.
chief
problem is now, and has always been, to secure enough land Our
on which
to base our national home."
•
•
•
MENACHEM MENDEL USSISIIKIN: "Our work now is harder
than that of Moses. Moses led the Jews out of Egypt. We must lead
them out of many nations. He took them from hard work to compara-
tive plenty. We must lead then, from soft seats to of hardship.
We are Jews, we reverse all things, and conquer. Otter colonizations
go from small poor countries to large rich ones; we go from large rich
countries to a barren, tiny place. Other people go from the country to
the city. We move from the city to the soil. But stone by stone,
dunam by dunam, we must keep on building. We must have our feet
firmly on the ground—and first we must own the ground to stand on.
God has created a political crisis in Palestine at the same moment that
he created a financial crisis in America. The American Jews must
remember that when a man has an only child dying,
he pawns his very
coat in order to buy medicine for the child. Palestine is our child.
Medicine is needed at once. There will always be Jews to go to Pales-
tine, but we may not always be able
to get Palestine for the Je•s."
rritn